My name is Cole.

A brilliant flash of light appears near the pond, and a man screams echo through the yard. A moment later a young man stumbles out of nowhere, wearing a white but badly stained gi, the shirt practically torn and hanging in tatters about his body, clinging mostly the shallow lacerations and abrasions covering his bruised and battered body. He's barefoot and takes two, three steps before collapsing in a heap in the soft grass less than a foot away from the pond. The light vanishes behind him.

Cole struggles to push himself, only collapse again against the soil. taking a breath, he forces himself over onto his back and stares up at the sky and then over at the inn. It seems familiar to him, but somehow wrong, in fact everything about where he is seems wrong. Out of place.

The Beta Creature skitters out of from behind the trees and rises to it's full height, it's eyes quickly fall on the man, the sole survivor of what it and it's siblings had eaten. So it quickly zeroes in the young man and begins charging across the ground towards Cole and swings it three poisoned tails down towards his prone body.

The first thing Anna sees upon stepping out from the kitchen is a very ugly thing. Realizing it is preparing to attack a unfortunate individual she prays that Hetty succeeded in doing what she said she did.

Without the cover of darkness there is no time to play hide and seek with the new creature invading her property. She chooses the next best tactic: run like hell and hope it draws the thing's attention away from the poor man it is about to try eating. With any luck Shard and/or Hetty would be backing her up shortly and between the three or four of them they may be able to split its attention.

Drawing a throwing knife, Anna whistles to draw it's attention to her. She flings the small blade in the creature's direction, aiming for one of it's four beady black eyes. Figuring that does the trick she sprints towards the back door of the inn that attaches to the tap room knowing the quick movement should further entice it.

If she can get back inside than she will be protected and hopefully give the unknown man time to get to the safety of the inn through the kitchen door with the assistance she is really hoping is behind her.

His eyes only briefly registering the threat, as well as a a glint of steel flashing through the sky thankfully towards the monster and not he, he just manages to roll out of the way of the tails, but his prior injuries slow him just enough where one of the monster's tails still grazes his ribs before slamming into the earth where he once lay. Then rolling backward into a crouch, he catapults himself up and towards the monster, delivering a powerful roundhouse kick, breaking off of the monster's tails, before back and away from the beast.

"Leave me be," He says to the beast in a low growl, his voice sounding like gravel, but each word carefully formed as he speaks it. But readying himself for another attack, and while glancing at the young, but not unattractive woman, curious as to what her motives are in all of this. But not sensing any of her hostility being directed at him, he refocuses on the monstrosity before him, weary, but ready to fight, relying on his training, and not naive enough to believe the glancing blow he received was merely that, he had been poisoned.

The beta letting lose a pterodactyl like scream from the two prong assault, thrashing at the blade now embedded into it's eye and wildly swinging around it's severed tail, the beta swat's it's arm towards Cole, sending a barrage of spikes flying into his direction, before charging at Anna, swinging it's other arm at her and sending a sending a volley of spikes at her as well, while still struggling to remove the blade from it's eye.

Not expecting the volley of claw like spikes flying towards him, he attempts to dive away, but again finds his reflexes slowed and impaired by fatigue, dodging all but one of the spikes, which slams into his stomach, as a second grazes his cheek and another glances off his right arm. But rolls and is on his feet in half the time, ignore the spike embedded in his stomach, he brings his hands in close to his side, creating a large fireball and sends it barreling through the air at the monster, the fireball made of his chi, capable of incapacitating most men, for it delivers an impact four times greater than any he could physically deliver, but is also the equivalent of a dozen blows at once, often causing minor burns upon impact.

""Move!" He shouts to the girl. wincing at the pain of the spike in his gut and feeling like it was sawing through his intestines and finding his vision beginning to blur. He's unsure if it's the blood loss, the beating he received before waking up, or the poison that's undoubtedly pumping through his veins.

(OOC: As this concerns both the yard and the tap room I am posting this in both areas for the sake of our sanity.)

The door is only a few short feet away when the monster sends its claws her way. Hissing as one of the unseen missiles slashes her shoulder and another meets its mark in her back, Anna Maria keeps moving. On the bright side she knows she has its attention.

Hearing the shout to move Anna puts in another burst of speed, reaching the door and ducking inside. If she’s lucky the creature will run into the wall and the wards which would hopefully be strong enough to result in it braining itself. Somehow she doesn’t think she’ll be that lucky. As the door slams shut behind her she sees a ball of red fire.

Anna starts to run for the stairs before her brain registers the chaos in the room. Without pausing she pulls the claw embedded in her out, ignoring the stream of blood now running down her back. Grabbing the railing, she uses it to balance her as she makes the turn up the stairs without slowing her run. As she passes by the other big ugly, she attempts to embed the beta creature’s claw into its friend’s neck-ish area.

Narrowly dodging Hetty’s bubble she shouts/asks as she runs past “Tell me the wards block fireballs!” Reaching the upper floor her hand reaches for a rifle stored behind the decorative molding on the top of a tall bookshelf in the hall before going out onto the balcony.

The man out there hopefully has enough sense and is physically able he should be able to try for the kitchen door while the critter is distracted. If Anna wasn’t so concerned that they were all going to die soon she would actually be finding this a bit fun.

The fireball slams into Beta's side, sending it crashing against the wall, with the wards around the inn causing it to rebound off the Inn's walls and sent off balancing and crashing to the ground. Scrambling back it it's feet, it spies the doorway the woman had hurt it and charges at the door with enough force to cause the walls to shudder, and greatly test the magical wards.

Seeing his attack hadn't had the desired affect and seeing it currently preoccupied with trying to get at the woman who blinded it, he realizes he has no other choice but to tap into his inner reserves. Taking his hands back to his sides, as the wind begins to pick up and blow around him, he begins charging a large fireball in his hands, which grows and brightens at the wind and leaves blow around him more fiercely then before, and the dancing yellow and red flames turn to a bright blue as the ball of fire slowly forms, a move reserved only for killing, which he rarely used partly because it took much longer to channel and focus into an attack.

As she steps onto the balcony the inn shudders from the impact of Beta. Anna Maria braces herself with the door frame. Leaning over so she has a view of the thing trying to bash its way in she brings the rifle up to aim.

Before she can aim, Cole's voice calls out. Figures, he's a man. Common sense isn't part of his vocabulary. Seeing another fireball in the works she holds off from firing, stepping further along the balcony away from any potential danger zone and waiting to see what will happen.

Stopping it's assualt on it the inn, beta turns, seeing the man, and remembering it's previous easy meal and then looks over at its broken and bleeding tail. Remembering the man had caused it pain, second only to the female who claimed one of its eyes. Enraged and hungry beta charges cole, firing a claw into leg, right below the knee and firing a second towards his chest.

Not liking where this is going Anna aims at the side of Beta's head. One can't form a fireball if they are dead and she sincerely hopes this strange annihalatets this thing.

The rifle fires with a loud crack. It's a noisy weapon, but its effectiveness at this range makes up for it. Anna ducks down, using the railing for cover. Judging by the claw she pulled from her back earlier, the chances of one making it through the slats is not impossible, but very unlikely.

As she crouches Anna begins to notice a burning sensation on her back, quickly ruling out poison (being poisoned once in a 24 hour period is one time to many already), she reluctantly decides to ignore it until their present crisis is concluded.

(OOC I'm responding in the order I've read these and I was the one creating a fireball, I thought you were aiming at me for a second lol)

Lowering his head at the monster's charge, knowing it's better to lure it further away from the inn before unleashing the soul flare, he grits his teeth from the pain of the spike biting through his leg, but maintains his focus and unleashes the soul flare at both the monster and the spike careening through the air towards his chest and thrusts both hands out towards the oncoming projectile and the monster, "Hi-Yahhhhhhhhhh!" He shouts as the bottom of his hands connect and the blue fire ball explodes from his hand, obliterating the spike before ever reaches him, and continues towards the monster and jerks away at the sound of thunder, seeing only the muzzle flash and stares up at the balcony in a mixture of both confusion and wonder.

His brow furrows, a moment before the poison takes hold making him feel suddenly very weak, tired, with his arms and legs now feeling like they had been tired to hundred pound weights, his vision narrows, but he plants his feet, refusing to become an easy meal for the creature.

Two things happen at once, first the Creatures head jerks forward from the force of the shot shattering the back of its skull and as it staggers forward Cole's fireball which blows the beast in half as it falls then to the ground in two halves, spilling the monster's insides across the garden.

(OOC: That’s what I get for responding on my phone. Yes, knew it was you with the fireball- was referring to your potential eminent death as big nasty was in striking distance.)

Watching the creature’s insides become its outsides Anna rocks back on her heels, relieved that for the moment the danger seems to be past… assuming the one inside has been neutralized.

Instead of going down the main stairs, Anna goes towards back into the inn and down through the kitchen not wanting to get caught up in another altercation when this man so obviously needs some assistance. She stows the rifle out of the way above the cabinet by the back door as she comes out of the kitchen, quickly making her way across the yard.

As she reaches Cole, she slows her pace taking in the up close and personal view of their most recent foe. “I think death improved this one’s looks.”

Looking at Cole she sees how close he is to falling over himself. “Let’s get you inside where you can pass out in comfort.” She offers her support to the stranger hoping he is wise enough to take it.

Squinting at the young woman he nods, ""I agree," he he says, swaying slightly on his feet. Wearily accepting her aid, mostly because he lacked the strength to do much else, he manages to belt out the words "Poisoned," before he passes out, forcing her to bear his full weight.